In Flame
by Merina 2
Summary: The history of the so-called witch twins; Alec and Jane's transformation into vampires through the actions of the Volturi, after being saved from burning at the stake for witchcraft in the 1500s. Blood, fire, and first hunts. Multi-chap, pre-Twilight.
1. Flames

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_**"So Alec and Jane are really for all intents and purposes in the Twilight universe would be considered witches when they were human. If you made Jane angry with you, even as a small child, bad things happened. Aro was aware of the twins and he was very interested in acquiring them. So imagine his disapproval when their village burned them at the stake. He interrupted that and village was no more and being burned at the stake part sort focused all their talents. Alec became all about no pain, that's where he was focusing. Whereas Jane wanted to inflict that pain on others. So that's really how their talents developed."**_

**- Stephanie Meyer.**

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Alec

I am going to die.

I suppose I have never really thought about death. Well, of course, I wouldn't have…it's not a subject you spend much time thinking about, do you? But all that has changed. So very quickly…that has all changed. Now I have to. Now I can't think of anything else.

Will it hurt? A childish question, but then…strictly speaking I _am_ a child. Yes, I think it will hurt. The flames of the stake are supposed to be one of the most excruciating ways to die that man has ever thought of. Users of witchcraft are said to suffer even more agony than mere criminals; cause of their evil powers.

But that isn't true, is it? Because, though I sit here, bound in ropes, waiting for the flames to light up the hay and wood, I know I am no witch. Or rather, no wizard.

How long will it take for the flames to consume me? I'm not tall for my age – the fire will not have that much of a body to burn. But I am so young. So young. And I did have so many plans for my life – plans that are now shattered. If I have a worst regret, it would be that. I couldn't wait to grow up, get out, get a job, a wife, a home of my own. Away from my Mother's angry slaps. Away from the suspicion. Away from the whispers, taunts…and then accusations, of our village.

For years, I have suffered this. The ever increasing talk of how I and my sister are cursed children, sent by the devil to bring horror and shame to our village. Ridiculous.

In truth, the only proof they have of this accusation is from my sister. My twin sister, Jane, whom I love so dearly, and would die for. Who I'm now going to die for. Because in truth, if it was not for her, I might not be facing death now. Not yet, at least. If she had not had her revenge on Mr. Evans after what he called her I would perhaps live to see tomorrow.

But she did. So I won't.

I look over at my sister. Jane looks the opposite of how I feel. Her face is juttered sharply up, and she glares with utter fury at our executers. Defiance. Determination.

She looks away from them for a second – and her eyes meet mine. She gives me a twitch of the head, and half shrug, and half rise of her perfect eyebrows. She is still very pretty, even bound and after days in a dark cell. Her looks says "Here we are. This is it." Not a trace of "I'm sorry, brother. If it weren't for me you might not be here." But she would never say that. Jane isn't like that. But I don't care. I love her anyway, and I will face the flames for her, for us. Because really, even if I had not been accused now, it was only a matter of time. Jane knew that better than anyone.

I wonder about myself. Jane has always been the one who stands out – the beautiful little witch-child, who can make most terrible things happen to anyone who displeases her. I have always been different too – but I've never stood out like Jane. I am quiet – unnaturally quiet, my mother always says – and unnaturally calm. I rarely speak, not unless I have to – only to Jane. I nevercry. I never scream. I suppose I don't ever really feel the need to. I'm not emotional. Not expressive. I'm just…me.

My sister calls me "numb" sometimes. A private joke between us.

So although my differences are the opposite of Jane's, I know, really, that it was only going to be a matter of time before I too was accused of having a witch's powers.

So I don't blame my sister for what we are about to face.

I give her a slow nod back, and she turns away again, back to face the platform that is now piled high with the bedding of our deathbed.

A man turns to us.

"It's time," he mutters.

But there's a satisfied smile creeping up the edges of his tone that makes my blood run cold with fear.

Jane

How _dare _they. How _dare _they point and stare at me like that. How _dare _they jeer and cheer at my death, how _dare_ they, _how dare they_…

The man who has just announced that it is time to begin has his arms round me. I am tied up, bound in ropes so tight I can barely move, so he has to half drag, half carry me up to the stake.

I despise this. How weak and pitiful I must look, being carried up to my death by a low-life like him. Someone _normal_. I find myself hating him even before the flames are lit. But then, I hate everyone around me at this moment.

I hate my mother, who saw my talent, my power, as something terrible, something risky - rather than something so unique, so very wonderful – something that should be destroyed so she could bag another pile of coins in her mostly empty pockets. I hate the crowd before me, cheering finally, after so much eager waiting, for the burning of the witch twins, their bright faces turned up to me, alight with pleasure. I hate the people who are now yanking even more ropes around me, tying me to the wooden stake. I hate everyone, everything, and everybody – except, of course, my brother.

My brother, Alec. He stands next to me, the ropes tight around him too. His face is the opposite of how I feel. Alec and I have always been so different – and yet so much the same. I love him dearly – for he is the only person on this earth whom is similar to me in any way. We are twins, so I suppose this is to be expected. But I do love my brother, for his companionship, and for our similarities. Both of us are different – but not in the way this jeering crowd sees us. We are both so far beyond them in many, many way – we both possess powers they could only dream of.

Alec denies this, of course – but I know it to be true. One day his true talent will shine through. He has an unreal calm and numbness about him – something which is so different, yet so similar to my power.

I smile slightly at the thought. _My_ power is not like Alec's. It is in full, glorious working order – and I wield it happily. Even as I stand facing death, I am proud of it. I am beyond every person in this village, side from my brother. I am different. I am unique. Powerful.

But not powerful enough to save myself from death.

A man takes out from his pocket a box of matches, and draws one out. I look over at my brother.

"This is it," my look says, once again. He nods, face blank and unfeeling as always – but I know he understands, and I know fear lies beneath the calm façade.

The man bends down, and lights the hay at my feet.

Flames shoot up and consume it in seconds, and I feel the hot, burning pain start at my legs. I clench my teeth and force back a scream. I will _not _do this. I will not show _any_ weakness. The flames quicken, blown by the wind, and travel up my body, licking and then searing and blistering my skin. I scream out loud, unable to hold it back, and the crowd delights in my pain. How _dare they_. How _dare they…_

I force the thought of the pain slowly killing me away to the back of my mind, and imagine it flowing out from me, away from my body and onto the crowds. I imagine flames of pain consuming _them_; imagine my screams to be _their_ screams. I _hate_ them. _I hate them all._

This pain is unbearable. So hot it's not even hot anymore – just blazing, endless, never ending agony. _Don't think of it!_ I tell my self. _It's not your pain, it's _their _pain. Every strike you feel tortures them more. Every lick of your flames is agony for them. It's not you. It's _them.

These thoughts make it bearable. I close my eyes and see the people cowering in agony before me. Revenge. Punishment. My pain, their agony.

I find a twisted smile creeping onto my face.

Alec

Oh how unbearable this is. How I long for death. Scorching pain like no other is consuming my body in its fiery depths. It's creeping up my legs, and I hear Jane let out a scream. I cannot scream though. I doubt I have ever done so in my life, and I will not start now. I close my eyes. Ah, that's better. Now my eyes are at least not being scalded by the red hotness of the fire.

I force myself to let go. I let body go limp. I take the feeling of unfeeling and let it wash down my whole body. I push away the screams of the crowd, push away the pain of death; numb my self all over. I cannot see. I cannot hear. I cannot smell, cannot taste – cannot _feel. _

I cannot feel.

Ah, this is better.

Jane

Something's happening. What, I'm not quiet sure – but something's happening to the crowd. I thought I was imagining their screams. Now I'm not so sure. The crowd is still making a raucous noise, yes – but it's not pleasurable. It's frantic, fraught with panic and mayhem, and I hear running footsteps and screams and bangs.

Is this death? Is this what hell sounds like? I've never cared in the slightest where I go or what will happen when I die – but this sounds to sharp and too real for heaven or hell.

I open my eyes – and then I know I must be dead. Ah. What a pity. I _am_ in hell. But then I suppose, heaven wouldn't quiet have suited me. My idea of heaven would be where my power was appreciated, accepted, _admired_. And I doubted heaven was a place that would accept what I enjoyed so very much to do.

Suddenly, I feel something cold and wet tossed over me. I open my eyes again, briefly, and hear a yell.

"Get the girl! And the boy – both! GO!"

And a mere second after the shout, I feel hands – cold, icy hands – around me. Demons? Are they this cold?

"What…you…" I try to speak but my voice is a cracked whisper.

"It's ok, kid, come on, lets get you out of here."

I hear a rip and suddenly my ropes drop off me. I try to open my eyes but smoke clouds my vision. Where is the fire? I see something beside me – my brother! Alec is unconscious; his eyes closed, and burns covering every inch of his skin, black and crusted and terrible to see. He's being held by a tall, cloaked person – another demon? I thought they were supposed to be red…

My thoughts make no sense. Is hell always going to be this confusing? I'm vaguely aware of being pulled off the platform, down the steps, and laid on the ground. It's so cold after the flames. Everything's cold. The demon's hands are freezing as they touch the place where my heart should be beating, had I been alive.

"Oh no…"

The words are spoken softly, with hints of panic in them.

"Master!"

This time it's a shout, an urgent shout.

"Master, it needs to be done now, at once, or you're going to lose her! She's slipping away…"

I hear footsteps, marred by swishes – another cloak – coming to stand by me.

"Then we have no choice. We do it now."

"Do you need..?"

"Yes. Do her wrists, and elbows, I'll start higher up. As many as possible, and as quickly as possible. Go!"

The next moment was the moment I became certain I was in hell. Because nothing, _nothing_ remotely human could possibly cause such pain. Hands were all over me; those icy hands, one set smooth as marble, the other colder and strangely brittle. I felt something slice though the charred skin of my wrists and the creases at my elbows. The same happened at my shoulders, my legs – and finally at my neck. I didn't have the strength to scream, but if I had, I would have. I would have so much.

Alec

Death takes an awfully long time. Far longer than I expected it to. I was so confused. I don't think I was really conscious anymore. I hadn't opened my eyes since the flames had begun to burn – and I still wasn't opening them now. But I had un-numbed my ears. I was hearing all kinds of things. Odd things. Screams and yells and running feet. Panicked voices to the right of me. They'd talked about someone – Jane? Then there had been moments of silence when I simply listened to the words the person bending over me was saying.

"Breath…come on, breath! Breath – Master! His heart!"

Then the silence had stopped from to the right of me, the other two voices talking again.

"Do you think that's enough?"

"Anymore, and we'll break a record. This is all we can do. Thank you, Demetri."

The voice bending over me was shouting again. "Master! Shall I do it?"

The footsteps moved again – sweeping towards me. "Is he breathing?"

"Just."

"Then, we have no alternative. His wrists and arms, Afton, and fast."

Maybe they are going to carry me to heaven, I thought vaguely. Or hell.

Going by what they did to me next, I'd say hell was most likely.

Jane

Pain. Pain, pain, pain. Hadn't I suffered enough?

_You didn't suffer, remember? _They _suffered…_

Of course, yes. I needed to stop thinking like this. It wasn't my pain, it was _their_ pain.

But the pain I was feeling now couldn't be taken out on others. It was my pain, and no one else's – and it was caused by the demons of hell.

Would my life – my death – continue like this forevermore?

Alec

Pain. Pain, pain, pain. Hadn't I suffered enough?

_You didn't suffer, remember? You couldn't _feel _the pain. You were numb._

Of course, yes. I had to stop thinking like this, remembering the pain. It wasn't pain, because I had numbed it till I was entirely unfeeling.

But the pain I was feeling now couldn't be numbed. It was my pain, and no one else's – and it was caused by the cloaked people who, I was almost certain, were demons of hell.

Would my life – my death – continue like this forevermore?

* * *

Jane

I'd lost track of time, when the flames of hell began to fade. I had no sense of time. I was dead, and damned to hell, was all I knew...

Alec

The fire began to trickle ever so slightly less from the tips of my fingers. I was dead, and in hell and time made no sense anymore. Neither did anything else…

Jane

It faded from my wrists…

Alec

It faded from my arms…

Jane

Voices. Smooth, perfect talking…

Alec

"Demetri, the time?"

"Three minutes to midnight, Master."

Jane

Master. This master master master. Who was he? The devil? He wasn't acting like any devil I'd ever imagined…

Alec

An odd thing was – how could my heart beat if I was in hell? It was different; fluttering and stuttering like it was struggling to stay beating – but most definitely still in my chest. Why…?

Jane

The pain faded up my legs…

Alec

Across my hips…

Jane

Over my chest…

Alec

Up my neck…

Jane

Oh, my heart. It felt like a hummingbird's wings…

Alec

My heart…my heart....

Jane

The pain faded across my cheeks, and over my forehead…

Alec

_Thump thump thump thump thump…_

Jane

And then…

Alec

…_oh_…

Jane

...My heart stopped…

Alec

…My heart stopped…

Jane

…The pain ended…

Alec

…The pain ended…

Alec and Jane

And I opened my bright red, newborn vampire eyes.

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_Loved writing this. Love, love, loved it. _

_Now, look at that little button...it's calling out to you...you just gotta press it...**REVIEW**..._


	2. Heat

_**IMPORTANT NOTE**: This and the rest of the chapters I plan to post are NOWHERE NEAR as good as the first. The first, original one-shot will always be the main, proper, polished, BEST. These are just blurbs I came up with after that oneshot, and I am only posting them for the sake of the lovely kind reviewists and pm-ers who begged me to. So don't expect much, and remember, the real story is the first chapter. Thanks!_

_Ok, guys, so I gave in. I really love Jane and Alec's povs so here we are, a continuation of the last chapter._

* * *

Jane

I open my eyes.

_Wow. _

If power was a person, I feel like power. Power and strength...

Everything is so _sharp. _I see the ceiling above me. But I don't just see the ceiling. I see every tiny particle of the dark, smooth black stone. I see every little drip of water clinging to it – and I know, barely without thinking, just how big each one is, and just how heavy and just how long it will take for it to fall and just how dirty or clean it is...

I hear. I hear so much. I hear muffled voices from what must be rooms away. I hear the sounds of an insect climbing up a wall on the opposite side of the room. I hear the breathing of people around me, and just by that little sound I can begin to tell how big they must be, how fat or thin, old or young, female or male…

Powerful. I feel strong and so, so powerful. I smile ever so slightly. Does hell give you power? Does it award you this immense strength? Now the fire is over…or maybe this is heaven. Maybe I suffered the flames to reach the light. Maybe all my wishes will come true now…

Barely a second has past since I awoke, when I hear a sharp intake of breath.

"There. It is over."

The words are spoken low, with a trace of suppressed eagerness and excitement. And I see a man. He blocks out my line of vision up to the ceiling, so I have no choice but look at him. I frown.

The man is unlike anyone I have ever seen before. His skin is pale as alabaster, and oddly translucent, and he has long, black hair that is unnaturally sleek and shiny. He is…well, perfect. His features are flawless; I can't find a fault. But so…entirely alien. So unlike anything on earth; so _unreal_, I cannot really call them beautiful. And he gazes down at me with clouded, milky red eyes.

So this _is _hell, I think. It must be. Red-eyed angels are, of course, impossible.

Only three quarters of a second has past as these thoughts of his appearance run through my head. Then he speaks again, smiling.

"Hello, Jane."

His voice is soft, but beautiful. Smooth and flawless as his pale skin. I frown again. He knows my name. How? Who told him? I feel apprehension start in my stomach, and I tense automatically in an odd, instinctual way. I don't know what to say in reply, so I stay silent. There is, after all, no hurry. I have an eternity of being dead ahead of me.

But then the man reaches out, and takes his and in mine, almost to shake it. And something inside me snaps.

In a movement so fast I hardly realise what I'm doing, an instinct seems to overtake all trace of sensible thought at his touch. I leap up from where I am lying, snatching my hand away and backtracking away from him, vicious, horrifying snarls ripping from my chest.

_Dangerous, dangerous, threat, unknown, touching, threat, dangerous, dangerous…_

I can't describe my shock at what my body is doing so automatically – though something inside me feels a little burst of pleasure at how…_murderous_ I sound. So strong and…_frightening_. The man steps back quickly, holding his hands up in defence – but I don't like his expression. It isn't as scared or surprised as it should be. In fact, it's turning almost…amused. As though he half-expected a reaction of some sort like mine.

He smiles slightly and carefully takes a step towards me – and I crouch automatically in defence, and I snarl again before I can stop myself. My crouch is easy, habitual, and the snarl instinctual. It feels so strong and new and altogether wonderful to use. After so many days of agony…to take my anger out on anyone, _anything_ is a relief! But the man just shakes his head, resigned but entirely relaxed.

"It's all right," he says calmly, stepping towards me again. "I won't hurt you, Jane. You have nothing to fear from me."

I skitter backwards, forcing back hisses. I have so much…_anger_ inside of me, just longing to come out! So much strength waiting, _needing_ to be used. I want to rip the room to shreds or spring at the man and tear at his limbs till he screams for mercy.

"Who are you?" I snap out, trying to calm my breathing and the uncontrollable snarls. "Where am I? What is this place? What are you, and what -?"

I stop dead in the middle of my sentence, the echo of my voice sounding in my ears. It can't have been me speaking those words. _Can't_ have. It is so beautiful I can hardly believe it – almost as lovely as his perfect tone. And oddly…_similar_…

I clutch at my throat, unable to believe it.

"What…what's happened to me? What am I? What happened?"

The man nods in resignation, and smiles again slightly as he watches me. I don't like his smile. I don't want politeness. I want anger, fury and a way to vent out all this…this…_strength!_

"You tell me this instant!" I hiss, clenching my fists as he steps closer. "Tell me – _tell me_!"

He laughs in delight at my demanding tone; I'm reminded, wildly, of a sort of pitying grandfather watching a child having a tantrum.

"I knew it," he says, almost to himself. "Jane…how _pleased_ I am to finally be able to introduce myself."

I glare, breathing heavily. "You haven't answered my questions –!"

"I shall, my dear, I shall. I do apologize; your thirst must be terribly uncomfortable to endure."

I frown in confusion. "My…?"

And then I feel it. It's been there all the time, really, just a dull ache in the background, but now that I have a moment to fully concentrate on it, it seems to double and triple to a million times in size to a searing, dizzying burn of thirst. I clutch at both sides of my neck.

"My_ throat_…oh my…_argh…_"

"I understand completely," the man says, edging closer till he is within touching distance again. I skitter a step back, the burn in my neck making my gasp.

"I won't hurt you," he says quietly, smiling again. "Please, know I intend on doing the exact opposite. I have and will only ever wish you well, Jane."

He gestures to the door. "Come. I have something for you which will help."

I glare at him, cringing as the pain in my throat sears again, so painfully I want to cry out. But the man only nods sympathetically, and then walks towards the door with a few drifting footsteps that are so graceful and ethereal I have to hide my surprise. He opens it, and murmurs something to someone from behind. I can't catch the words; just a name; "Demetri."

Then he turns back to me and holds the door open for another man – another pale, unnaturally beautiful man who drags something into the room behind him.

I don't stop to think.

The most incredible, delicious scent on earth reaches me and I leap at the man called Demetri, snarls ripping from my chest again. He staggers back in shock as I grasp by him, my hands flailing to reach the thing that is making my mouth water.

"Let me…_let _me _get_ it…_let me past…!_"

I'm snarling and grabbing and shoving at the man and so thirsty, so terribly, burningly thirsty I don't care what happens except getting to the thing that will sate it…

The thing screams – and I realise faintly that it's a man – and makes a staggering run for the door. I leap after him – but the man called Demetri gets there first, blocking me to stop the man. I snarl in fury, fury that he's blocked the man, mine, _mine_, the thing I want to grab and tear and bite, kill, drink, and my thoughts are making sense anymore except I'm so mad with strength and hatred and fury and thirst I want to scream, but the feelings build, and they seems to burst out of me, my terrible hatred soaring into solid_ power_ towards Demetri and suddenly he lets out the most awful scream – and falls to the floor.

For a split second, I'm distracted as Demetri writhes and screams at my feet, in obvious excruciating pain. I breathe heavily, watching him suffer, entirely taken aback by what is happening to him – and then the scent reaches me again. I don't think about the fact that this is a human being, a man, and that I am in hell anyway, and should I even need to eat or drink if I'm dead.

I don't think. I let the roaring, animalistic instincts wash over me, take me over, and I pounce at the man, my hands automatically finding his neck. I pull him up towards me as his mouth opens to scream, but before he can make a sound I bend, the thirst overpowering everything else…

And I sink my teeth into his neck.

For an instant, I feel a pang of surprise and horror at what I am doing – but not for long. A warm, sweet liquid that I know deep down inside me is blood starts to poor down my throat, driven by my unstoppable instincts, and I can't think of anything else. I clutch the gasping man against me, drawing back slightly only to bite the other side of his neck, and the drink continues to poor. I suck desperately, craving more with every mouthful. It's better than anything on earth, more wonderful and delicious than any food or drink. Ecstasy. Bliss.

After what felt like a regrettably short amount of time, the man's gasps fade and I hear – yes, _hear_ – his heart give a final, desperate beat, before it is silent. But I don't care. The animal's instincts are still inside me, controlling my mind and body – so I don't care. I suck desperately for the last drops; the flames in my throat are numbed, but still there, in a dull ache against my skin. But the man is dry. I can find no more liquid. No more heavenly drink to sate the thirst…

Very slowly, I draw away from my meal. I look down in surprise and confusion at the corpse. Recognition sparks. He is the man who smiled and laughed loudly as I burned…burned at the stake, yes, that was it. My memories are fuzzy, distorted. What has happened to them…?

I gaze down at the meal…no, not the meal, the…man. But…

…but…

But oddly…I feel only a very tiny twinge of regret for his death. I frown. I hated many back when I was alive, to be certain, longed to kill hundreds of them – but shouldn't I still feel a little more sorrow for this meal…meal…man…?

Then I hear a small sound behind me – a swish, like someone has taken a step whilst wearing a cloak or coat. I slowly turn round.

Crouching on the floor, looking with terror in his eyes over at me, is the man called Demetri. The man who's skin is more papery and eyes more clouded is standing beside him – and he wears the strangest expression. An odd, almost greedy, possessive expression. Like someone who's just opened a present to find it's one even better than the gift he expected he was getting…

Still panting slightly, I slowly stand up, and point a finger back at the drained body behind me, my eyes on the black-haired man's.

"Explain. _Everything_," I whisper, putting as much venom into the two words as I can. I can't help that little bubble of pleasure again starting inside me. I sound so _strong_. I _am_ strong…

And now I feel doubt beginning. Doubt about…whether I really am dead. I look round the room again, taking in every tiny detail – and everything is so bright and sharp…I cannot be absolutely certain any longer that I am truly in hell.

The black haired man glances down at Demetri.

"Demetri, leave us. We will discuss it…the affect she used on you, later. You may go."

He talks commandingly, as if to a subject, but not quiet a servant. Carefulness, but not quite respect. Like someone handling an item of china that requires value and good treatment to stay in your box of treasures.

Demetri stands up, his eyes wary as he glances once at me.

"Yes, Master." He nods in a sort of half-bow of respect, and heads out the door.

"Oh, and Demetri?"

Demetri pauses and turns back. "Master?"

"Get rid of that."  
He points to the remains of my meal. Demetri nods again, and pulls the body out the door behind him.

Then the "master" turns to me.

"Jane, my dear. Your brother is in the next room along from, also, I presume, awaiting an explanation. Would you like to see him first? I shall explain everything to both of you."

I gasp. Alec! My brother! My wonderful, kind, understanding, peaceful brother. How can I have forgotten all about him?

"Is he all right -?" I begin in a panic.

"He is as fine and well as you are. A member of my guard is sitting with him at the moment."

"I want to see him," I snap out, striding towards the door he gestures at. "Let me see him, then you explain this _all_ to both of us. I want to see Alec."

* * *

_I suppose I'm kinda going for a newborn instincts how Jasper imagined Bella to be. All the strength waiting to come out – along with all Jane's fury. Lil' brief bit of her power seen there too. _

_Again I **DON'T KNOW HOW FAR I WILL GO WITH THIS**, that might be it for now as I'm very busy. We'll see, ok? _

_**REVIEW **OR I'LL** GET JANE TO TORTURE YOU **_

_Kidding ;D but I do love reviews..._


	3. Warmth

_You: What? WHAAAT? Merina is updating? Updating THIS half-dead and buried story? But she said not to expect any more chapters! Does this mean she's gonna continue this story properly? Does this mean she's gonna update regularly? But she said she wasn't going to write any more on it! She SAID she was done, at least for now! She did! She DID! She SAID…!  
_

_*stunned silence*_

_Me: She…uh…lied…_

* * *

Alec

_Wow._

If a person was…_power_, yes, that's the right word I suppose…then I feel like it. Power. Power and strength…

I've never really been one for these feelings. Never been one to enjoy lording over others, enjoy a position of control, of…power. But _this…_

Everything is so _sharp._ I see the ceiling above me – but I don't just see the ceiling. I see every tiny line in the ancient looking wood, every crack and hole from the millions of woodlice that must have crawled through it over so many years, and know exactly how big each hole is, and how strong the wood is, and how old it must be just by _looking_, by _seeing_…

I hear. I hear, from what I know must be about…three rooms away, soft, muffled voices. I can tell just by listening exactly how old or young each person speaking is, and exactly what gender, and who is talking to who…just by listening. _Just_ by listening…

I blink, very slowly. Powerful. The only word to describe how I feel. Powerful_._

I shiver – not in cold, or in fright, but just…feeling_. _Feeling and seeing and hearing so much…

And oddly…I like how it feels. It's so easy, so…effortless. I can stay perfectly still, perfectly calm…my usual 'numb' self, and yet still see and hear and _be_ so much. I smile slightly. The feeling of doing nothing, and yet at the same time being and feeling everything…

Yes…yes, I like this feeling.

But if that is true, then…heaven or hell? The two words run over in my mind – heaven seems, at this moment in time, the most likely option…but then, perhaps what I just suffered was hell. Perhaps God took pity on me and let me pass through the fire to reach the paradise…but somehow, that doesn't seem quiet right. I frown, thinking, the two words pounding over and over like a resounding drumbeat, again and again, over and over…

Then I heard footsteps. And a voice – a lilting woman's voice, soft and whispery, but with sharp iciness run through it that gave it an…unreal edge.

"Felix. Get over here. The boy – he's awake."  
A deep man's voice calling from a few rooms away…

"Yes, Mistress. I've nearly finished."

_Finished what?_ I vaguely wonder. And now I have come to think of it, what is there to do in hell?

And then, out of the corner of my eye…I see the woman. She drifts towards me from the side – I must be lying on a bed, facing upwards. I can't help but let my mouth drop in astonishment as her form comes into view.

She is exquisite. So beautiful. Unnatural, to be sure, unlike anything I've ever seen on earth before…but then, this isn't earth, is it? Her skin is unnaturally pale, and has an odd, flaky, translucent look to it – yet still, seems as smooth as marble. I think of angels; beautiful, kind angels. Her hair is long, dark and sleek, and her eyes…I blink in horror at her eyes, misty and filmed; all thoughts of angels gone from my mind in an instant. All I can think of now is demons. A demon of hell.

Her eyes are coloured the most startling, glaring red.

She looks down on me with an imposing, but oddly apprehensive expression. As though she wishes to make it clear that she has great authority over me, but expects my still form to leap up and attack everything in sight at any second. I'm still contemplating this when I hear a door open and close to my left, and more quick footsteps…

"Mistress?"  
"Felix." The woman gestured slightly nervously to me; her hand was bone-thin, almost skeletal…deathly pale. A shudder rippled down my spine – half-horror, half-wonder. What a sight she was. "There. You know your instructions. Get to it."

She gave me a last sharp, but still wary glance, and then drifted from the room with a few swift, flowing footsteps. I turned my head experimentally to the side to see another pale, red-eyed person – a huge, muscular man this time, with dark hair…Felix. He approached me cautiously, again with that wary look in his eyes, as though I was a bomb that was about to go off. Odd.

I was just deliberating on what question to ask this strange man first, when a sound; a ripping, tearing, snarling sort of a sound, filtered towards me from about five rooms away.

_Five rooms away_…how could I possibly know that…?

The burly man winced, his eyes turning in the direction of the noise – and then flitting even more nervously back to me.

I frowned, gazing up at him… and decided on my first question.

"Sir? Is this hell?"  
I had to hold back a gasp at my voice. Unnaturally soft and smooth; musical, like ringing bells, but with sweet, childlike inflictions here and there. Mm…rather lovely sounding, in fact.

My frown deepened – but the burly man only smiled, rather sympathetically.

"Nope," he said. "Actually, kid…Alec, that was your name, wasn't it? Well, no. You're not dead, not strictly speaking. You're alive, and well, and in good hands, I promise you that."

I frowned a little at that, turning my head from side to side, slowly taking in my surroundings. I was lying in a single wooden bed, on white sheets, in a large wood-panelled room, empty aside from a single, empty bookshelf, which had a rather unpleasant looking dark stain across it…

I swallowed. My throat suddenly felt very dry, bone dry, throbbing with a dull, aching burn. Strange.

The room around me both looked and felt rather worse for wear, as though it hadn't been used in quite some time – smelling of pine and damp and other scents I couldn't name, alien to me. The ceiling was wooden too, I noticed. Ornate carvings covered the door, which stood to ajar to my left, through which I assumed the beautiful lady had left by.

"The lady…" I began, slowly.

"Mistress was simply keeping an I on you whilst I went off to help Demetri with…well, you probably don't want to know. But she isn't very fond of newborn handling, you see. Knowing her, she's probably already back in the tower."

I looked at him blankly. "The tower, sir?"

"With Sulpicia. The wives…well, you'll know soon enough." He frowned to himself, biting his lip and eyeing me warily. "I don't want to explain it all wrong, see, set you off, and this is my first time…handling…"

I waited patiently, my eyes never leaving his face as he trailed off. Hm. I wasn't really sure what to make of all this.

But he still hadn't answered my question…

"Where am I, then, if not hell – if I'm truly alive?" I asked, a little sharper than was necessary.

"Well…" the man hesitated – then seemed to decide something "Ok, guess it wouldn't hurt to give you a few minor details. You see, my Masters – well, one of them, at least – has been very keen about getting hold of you for quite some time now. He was pretty angry when news reached us of what those villagers were planning to do to you – very particular about saving you, from the witch burning you were headed for…you must remember that, right?"

I didn't…or…no, perhaps I did. The memories were vague, muddy in my brain, but…yes, the village, the people, the accusations, witchcraft, I did remember something of that.

"He immediately secured orders to save you – and your sister, too..."

I shot bolt upright in a movement so fast it shocked me.

"My _sister?_"

"Yes," Felix said quickly, crouching ever so slightly in an oddly defensive movement – and to my surprise and further confusion, I felt my own muscles tense into the same position; a reflex out of my control… "Yes, your sister – short brown hair, sweet-looking little thing, Jane, I think it was…?"

_Jane._ How could I have forgotten her? I made as if to get up, thoughts of my one and only companion, friend and sibling in all the world flooding me – but Felix's strong hands caught my shoulders and pushed me carefully back down onto the bed.

"Easy, kid, wait a second…"

"Let me go," I ordered quietly, worry building inside me, fear and suspicion about this man, this new creature clutching my shoulders, could be danger, _danger_…

"My sister – Jane, I want to see Jane, where is she -?"

"_Easy,_" Felix soothed, still trying to restrain me as I struggled to sit up again. "You're sister's fine, I swear – really, if we need to be worrying about anyone, it's my Master, those snarls sounded nasty…"

"Snarls?"

I frowned for a second…then the realisation of what he was really suggesting dawned. I almost laughed out loud – a rare occurrence, for me.

"You mean those noises we heard a few minutes ago? Really, sir, don't be ridiculous, Jane wouldn't make a sound like that, not ever…"

"Look, kid," Felix sighed, still holding my shoulders, but adopting a much kinder tone. "Your sister –"

"– Jane –"

"– _Jane_, is just fine, like I said before. I swear, every bit as safe and well as you are. Now will you please stop your struggling and listen a moment?"

I looked steadily at him with narrowed eyes for a few silent seconds. Worry and suspicion was coiling and writhing inside of me, almost _frighteningly _strong…but his tone sounded truthful. Reassuring. Calming…

I took a slow, deep breath, clenching my fists…then lay back down on my bed, my eyes still never leaving Felix's for a second. He bit his lip, glancing away to the side – looking unnerved.

"All right," he said, quietly. "All right, now Alec…look here, you give me a minute, and I'll step outside and see about you and your sister having some time together, ok? My Master should be watching her – I'll get Afton to keep an eye on you, so just stayput, don't move, and I'll find out how things are going, see if you can join her. Then I swear…proper explanations will be revealed for the both of you. Ok?"

I considered for a moment. My eyes scanned Felix's face intently, searching for any sign of a pretence, or lie…but he truly seemed to mean what he was saying.

I hesitated for a moment…

Then I nodded.

* * *

_Sigh…Alec is so much trickier to write than Jane…but still so much fun. Argh, I just love them too much! But r__emember, don't expect any more chapters, this is really just something fun for me to write when I feel like it._

_**IMPORTANT NOTE**: This and the rest of the chapters I plan to post are NOWHERE NEAR as good as the first. The first, original one-shot will always be the main, proper, polished, BEST. These are just blurbs I came up with after that oneshot, and I am only posting them for the sake of the lovely kind reviewists and pm-ers who begged me to. So don't expect much, and remember, the real story is the first chapter. Thanks!_

_**REVIEW BEFORE ALEC SNEAKS THROUGH YOUR BEDROOM WINDOW AND BLINDS, MUTES, AND NUMBS YOU ALL OVER FOR THE REST OF YOUR EXISTANCE! He's on his way right now...press that lil' button, quick...!**_


	4. Cooling

**Surprise, surprise, another chapter! I'm trying to clear out my old Twilight fanfiction files in preparation for the grand entrance of a new computer, so this one's a bit rough and ready, but good enough :) and badly in need of posting. So – enjoy!**

* * *

Alec

"Brother!"

"Jane!"

I half-leap, half-dart across the dim room towards my sister, ignoring the raven-haired stranger by her side, dismissing the stomach-flipping shock as I realize just how incredibly fast I am moving – and throw my arms round her shoulders. She laughs and hugs me back tightly, burying her face in my shoulder in the same instant I nestle against hers – she smells faintly, unpleasantly of burnt material and singed hair – and a surge of relief passes through me. _Safe. Complete. _We are together again. Whatever hell or heaven we have reached, that is the most important thing. Jane is safe.

I kiss her cheek at the same moment she kisses mine.

When we draw back, still laughing, I stare down at her face – and my smile falters. To my surprise, so does hers.

"Alec…"

"Jane…"

Both of us touch each other's faces at the same moment – we were always strange that way, limbs moving like two halves of the same person at the most unexpected of moments – at least that part hasn't changed about each of us. But everything else…

"Your eyes…" we whisper in unison.

Jane is…well, beautiful. Beyond beautiful – like the lady I met before, the 'mistress' who was going back to the tower with the other wives. The memory brings a little private smile to my face; I must ask after her, must find out who she was, exactly, so lovely, yet so alien. Jane's skin is almost as pale as hers was, and smooth as marble, her face like an angel's, but her eyes…glaring, raging scarlet.

I smile anyway.

"You are so beautiful, sister."

"You too," she sings in her high, sweet, slightly reedy voice. "But you…your eyes…"

I frown in confusion. "What? Don't you mean yours?"

"What about them? It's yours…"

"What is wrong with mine?"

"Yours…"

"No, yours…."

"They're red," we chorus together, with equal shock and confusion. My eyebrows shoot upwards, as do hers; an identical response to each other's words. Do I really look so alike to…_her?_

As we stand together in silent shock, I hear Felix enter the room from behind me, and step towards us. I let go of Jane, keeping one arm around her shoulders, and turn to face him accusingly.

"You swore to me we would have explanations once we were reunited."

The other man, the black-haired stranger with, I notice, similar papery-thin skin to the beautiful woman from before, comes up to stand beside him – eyeing me in an eager, curious way I don't like.

"Is this him? Your master?" I ask, quiet but sharp, nodding to the man. Felix nods.

"That's right, kid – Alec. Master Aro will explain everything to you. I'll see you later, maybe. Good luck."

He smiles a brief, sympathetic smile – then the one called Aro gives him a nod, and Felix turns and darts from the room.

I don't particularly feel the need to return his goodbye, so I don't. What has he done for me, after all? Created a steady flow of unanswered questions he then refuses to answer? Annoyance twists inside me again – strong, too strong, making my muscles tense again in that odd way.

Aro, meanwhile, gives a wide smile and strides towards us from where he has been standing between two beds – the only furniture in the room – his arms out held. I flinch back automatically, Jane mirroring the movement.

"Alec and Jane," he greets us, in a voice very similar to the beautiful lady from before; a soft sighing, almost whispery, but still full of warmth and welcome. "Both of you, sit down – I have so much to tell you!"

Jane glances at me, and we agree wordlessly. Taking my sister's hand, I lead her to the edge of one of the beds I assume she woke from too. It seems Jane had this stranger, Aro, for company when she awoke…alone…?

Hm. My muscles tense again, and some automatic impulse makes me scrutinize Aro, checking for a sign of threat, of danger he might have posed to my sister…but he seems harmless enough. Safe.

As I perch on the edge of the quilt, and Jane sits by my side, I glance at her face. Not a hint of fear or discomfort. That was all right, then.

The explanation begins.

* * *

"What am I?"

It was the first question I asked, and, in what was bound to be a view shared by my sister, the most important one.

The man – Aro – nodded, as though he expected that, and clasped his hands together in his lap, as though preparing to go through some age-old routine again.

"I have known you both for a very long time, my dear Jane and Alec, though without you knowing," he began, in that effortlessly silken-smooth tone I found myself dangerously close to trusting almost at once. "I saw you suffer from your Mother and the residents of your home village, and I have longed to meet you properly for some time. But I have held back, for obvious reasons. I intended this to happen in some years time, when both of you are older – say, seventeen or eighteen – but desperate circumstances demanded desperate measures, and I had no choice."

"It was you," Jane said suddenly, in her sharp, reedy voice. Both Aro and I turned to look at her. "You were the one who was there, right at the end…all the burning, and…and…"

She frowned, as though trying to remember something very unclear. I understood why – here memories must have been as vague and fuzzy as mine.

"And I saved you and your brother from the stake," Aro finished for her, smiling yet another smile. "With help from my dear accomplices, of course."

"But that wasn't all you did," Jane frowned. "You…you and that other one…Demetri! That was it! You were both talking, and touching me, and then you…you…" Jane was frowning like she was struggling with a particularly hard arithmetic problem. "Then you…"

And then comprehension washed over her expression and her frown narrowed into a furious glare.

"You _bit_ me! Both of you! Again and again – and you made the fire start, it was you, _you_ –!"

"My dear, I assure you, if there had been any other way to save you I would have used it. But there was not. And what is done is done – though I am deeply sorry for the pain you and your brother must have endured. I do understand, better than you know."

"Oh, I _know,_" Jane interrupted, with awful sarcasm, still glaring. "It happened to you too, didn't it? Your eyes, they're like mine and Alec's, so you were bitten too, and that means…that means…"

She trailed off, a trace of fear entering her expression for the first time, and her eyes glazed over, as though she was remembering something and trying to put two-and-two together. And I understood.

All that fire…the fire that still burned numbly in my throat had changed me, changed my body, changed my very feelings till they became the instincts I now had to keep suppressing…

Aro nodded slowly, gazing with an odd, admiring expression at Jane.

"You are right, Jane. Exactly right. I suffered the flames, oh, such a very long time ago now. And it changed me too…"

"What are we?" Jane rapped out, and her fists clenched in a way I'd seen many times before. It was always a warning signal; her first sign of bracing herself for a fight.

"Yes," I agreed, injecting a hint of surprisingly easy anger into my tone. "Yes, sir, we both want to know. What are we? What are _you_?"

Aro sighed deeply, took a deep breath…then nodded in resignation.

"I, you, my brothers, Demetri, Felix, all of us…we are vampires."


End file.
